Nico Hulkenberg sensationally made Q3 at the opening race of the season in Bahrain, but there is a long way to go before Haas are competing as they should.
Speaking about how the split occurred with Sky Sports, Steiner revealed that he and team owner Gene Haas didn’t see eye to eye.
“I mean the last year, year and a half was difficult because you could see all the other teams, when the budget cap came in place, everybody invested their money in the infrastructure of the company just to move forward,” he said.
“We didn’t do that and at some stage, you know you need to say what you think about things.
“Obviously I don’t own the team, I cannot make these decisions, I haven’t got the money and Gene [Haas] wants to do it his way and obviously he didn’t like what I had to say and therefore my contract was not extended, which I was ok with it.”
Ayao Komatsu – Haas's new team principal faces a difficult task with ageing infrastructure to catch up with the rest of the pack.
Steiner wasn’t completely blameless however, and his brutal approach saw drivers like Mick Schumacher falter under pressure – contributing to the team’s downfall over time.